This invention relates to the charging layout of batteries, first of all for electric vehicles, involving a filling station, batteries, one or more inlet conduits and one or more outlet conduits, where the inlet conduits are joined to a distribution unit and the outlet conduits are connected to a draining unit, and with the draining unit connected with the collector tank unit of the filling station. The invention also relates to a procedure for charging batteries, first of all for electric vehicles, in the course of which the liquid-like used parts of the batteries are removed from the vehicle and regenerated electrolyte is fed into the batteries.
Numerous demands have to be fulfilled by batteries in electric vehicles. These are reviewed together with the different types batteries in books, as they follow: Chemical Electric Energy Sources and Their Applications (Hungarian, Mxc3xcszaki Kxc3x6nyvkiadxc3x3, Budapest, 1978); Battery Reference Book (London, 1990); History of the Electric Automobile (Soc. Automotive Eng., USA, 1994). The charge of most modem batteries is even today a time consumption process. This gives rise to difficulties against the development of electric vehicles.
The up to now aims of developments were the higher energy density and economy of such power sources. The following patents show batteries with higher energy density: No. WO 94-15372 for zinc-bromine, No. EP 600.718 and EP 458.395 for zinc-air, the No. EP 391.443 and WO 90-04268 for aluminium-air batteries. According to WO 92-15120, for increasing of capacity a fixed accumulator layout is also known, where during its operation the electrolytes were continuously pumped out and after its refreshing are continuously fed back. But even a battery of higher energy density does not mean any alternative to the internal combustion engines of lower efficiency, because of the great difference in their refuelling times.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,858 shows a battery which can be regenerated in a chemical way. Chemical regeneration of the battery is carried out by adding formaldehyde. A drawback of this solution is that practically it can be applied only with an iron-all battery. A further disadvantage is that the regeneration of the battery requires, beyond the components of the battery, the use of a further substance which at that is poisonous.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,430 presents a fuel cell using hydrogen gas, strong acid and base electrolytes. The drawback of this solution is that its application in a motor vehicle is extremely dangerous. In case of an accident contacting the strong acid with a base may cause an explosion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,947 presents a metal-air type battery. For the operation of the battery, a diverter and continuous circulation of the electrolyte are necessary. The disadvantage of this solution is that the flow resistance of the diverter and the continuous circulation decrease the yield of the battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,701 presents a battery in which the electrolyte continuously circulates during operation between the battery and a reservoir. The electric car has to take with itself both the battery and the reservoir. The substance necessary for operating the cathode of the battery is dissolved. This solubility is, however, limited. Therefore the reservoir is needed to increase the quantity of the electrolyte and thus to raise the capacity of the battery. This solution has several drawbacks. The use of chlorine gas involves the risk of accident. Charging of the battery requires three materials, including the regeneration of the halogen cathode. The regeneration itself is a long lasting process because the material of the anode is a solid metal and so its regeneration can be carried out only by mechanical change or by an equally long lasting electric charging.
WO 92/02964 presents a battery which can be used also in electric vehicles. To regenerate the battery, its used up components are removed and replaced by fresh ones. A disadvantage of the solution is that removal of the used up components and the filling in of the fresh ones is done in different places. Thus, after the removal of the exhausted battery, the vehicle has to be transferred by a complicated and expensive device to the filling place. This considerably increases the costs of building a filling station.
A further disadvantage is that the regeneration of the components of the battery is effectuated by means of electric energy which is not the best solution for metal-air batteries. Particularly disadvantageous is that the feeding in of the anode material and the electrolyte is carried out in one operational step, as thus the electrolyte remains saturated with anode particles. The anode particles suspended in the electrolyte generate so called parasitic current which decreases the efficiency of the battery. Another disadvantage is that the anodes are not fixed on the surface of framework. The lack of fixing the anode particles considerably decreases the capacity of the battery.
Unlike the solutions described above, in the case of our patent the substance of the anode is not mixed up with the working electrolyte of the battery. Until being fixed on its supporting surface, the anode material behaves as a non-Newtonian suspension, but after its fixation on the anode surface it can be regarded as solid material. Unlike the known solutions, in the case of our invention there is no need to transfer the vehicle between the draining and filling. After filling the electrolyte is a practically pure Newtonian liquid free of metallic particles. A possible flushing after the filling of the electrodes may further increase the pureness of the electrolyte.
The aim of the invention is the elimination of the disadvantages of the solutions known up to now and providing a possibility, where the charging of a battery will not need essentially more time than that of the refuelling of a classic engine.
The basic idea of the invention is the recognition as follows: performing the charging of the appropriate parts of the batteries by liquid-like materials, i.e. electrode suspensions, instead of electric charge so that a better solution may be achieved.
According to the aim considered above, the charging layout of batteries or fuel cells, first of all for electric vehicles, involves a filling station, batteries, one or more inlet conduits and one or more outlet conduits, where the inlet conduits are joined to a distribution unit and the outlet conduits are connected to a draining unit. The draining unit for distributing electrode suspension and/or electrolyte uniformly between the battery electrodes is connected with the collector tank unit of the filling station, consists of a distribution unit in connection with an active tank unit of the filling station containing electrode suspension and electrolyte and a primary reservoir for electrode suspension and a primary electrolyte reservoir involved into the active tank unit, and a fixing unit connected to the batteries, and it is able to help fixation and removing of the electrode suspension in and out of the batteries.
The layout according to the invention is characterised by a primary draining reservoir and possibly a flushing reservoir included into a collector tank unit. Variations of the invention are as follows: between the distributing unit and the active tank unit a secondary electrode suspension tank and a secondary electrolyte tank are inserted belonging to the vehicle, and similarly, between the draining unit and the collector tank unit a secondary draining tank is inserted.
The battery conduits suitable for transporting liquids are connected to the joining unit of the vehicle and the tubes of the filling station are advisably connected to a filling device fitted to the joining unit. The volumes of the secondary electrolyte tank and that of the secondary draining tank may be unified through a separating element, but the single volumes may change against each other. Between the distribution unit and draining unit there is a connection formed by an internal driving unit suitable for driving of the secondary charging of batteries. Another connection exists between the active tank unit and the collector tank unit through a regenerating unit.
The procedure for charging batteries or fuel cells, first of all for electric vehicles, according to our invention, in the course of which the liquid- like used parts of the batteries are being removed from the vehicle and electrolyte is fed into the batteries, can be characterised by the feeding of an electrode suspension into the batteries prior to feeding the electrolyte, and by fixing the electrode suspension.
The procedure according to our invention may be characterized as follows: during the charging process the filling device of a filling station will be fitted into the joining unit of the vehicle, the used components of the batteries will be transported into the collector tank unit of the filling station and from an active tank unit of the filling station the electrode suspension will be transported into the batteries and will be distributed uniformly between the electrodes, after its fixation eventually a washing of the batteries may occur, and then the batteries will be filled up with electrolyte and the filling device will be removed from the joining unit.
The procedure according to our invention may be also characterized in the following way: from the batteries at least one part of the used components of the batteries will be transported into a secondary draining tank of the vehicle, and then or simultaneously from a secondary electrode suspension tank and/or from the secondary electrolyte tank of the vehicle the electrode suspension and the electrolyte will be fed into the batteries.
The charging of the batteries according to this invention has more advantages. The most important among them is that the direct renewing of the batteries being able to drive a vehicle does not occur by direct feeding in of electric charges, but by replacing of some parts of the batteries by their pumping out and in, i.e. their anodes and electrolytes in liquid-like form. The pumped out parts may be regenerated in a central place, for example at the filling station itself The electric vehicles stay at the station only for the time needed for changing of its liquids. The refuelled car can continue on its way in a few minutes.
The change of components of battery may only be even partial and this type of refuelling may also be of some advantages, i.e. an electric vehicle may be even half-refuelled. This provides a possibility for a refuelling between two filling stations, so called xe2x80x9con the road refuellingxe2x80x9d. To provide this possibility the batteries must be completed by other tanks, from them a refuelling may occur. The charging process according the invention may have advantages concerning environmental aspects, as well. An electric vehicle equipped according to the invention has no pollution only due to its energy producing process,. Its emission of harmful substances is equal to zero.